As of today I am retiring as publisher, editor, and manager of Slaw. I have asked Steve Matthews, the innovative and talented President of Stem Legal, who has been with Slaw since the beginning, to take over as publisher of Slaw; and I’m thankful indeed that he has agreed. Steve is in charge here now.

This is something of a wrench for me. I started Slaw nine years ago and have managed it since that time; I’ve written more than 2,500 entries and another 500 or so as Administrator. I’ve seen it grow from a crew of half a dozen contributors to a roster of two dozen wonderful bloggers and sixty equally wonderful columnists. Readership has also grown steadily over the years to the point that we now have 90,000 unique visitors each month.

But what I’m most glad about is the community that Slaw has built with writers and readers from across Canada and, indeed, the world, making Slaw a safe and thoughtful place to explore how law does and should operate. I thank you for helping build and letting me be a part of this community.

Because letting go is never easy, I’ll continue to write Friday Fillips for the next little while at least. And, of course, I’ll continue to read Slaw — as I know you will too.

Comments

Simon, you have built not only a community but a unique and valuable resource on Canadian law and practice. This has been well recognized by the honours you have won with it and by the devotion of those of us whom you have allowed to appear on Slaw’s virtual pages.

Let me be among the first on this transitional occasion to thank you with enthusiasm for creating such a stimulating and fun place to think about law. We all owe you much. THANK YOU!

Congrats Simon! Thanks for making SLAW the go to blog for the Canadian legal community. Amazing to see a little side project grow into something that is woven into the fabric of our daily online activities. Good eye on picking some great bloggers and columnists. Thanks for giving us suggestions on topics to cover, and last but not least, thanks for your friendly nudges to keep us all posting on our schedule.

Simon,
It is a sad day for Legal blogging in Canada. You created a first class space on the internet for legal views to be discussed in an open and forthright manner.
It has been a pleasure to have worked with you and a greater pleasure to get to know you personally. LawyerLocate.ca will always be in your debt for giving us an opportunity to promote our brand on SLAW.ca.
I wish good luck and good health in your future endeavors.
Sincerely
Mark

Not very many people actually create something significant. But Simon has done so in creating SLAW and the community of which he is rightly proud.

Creating “a safe and thoughtful place to explore how law does and should operate” is no small feat in a world in which polarized views are so often hurled at adversaries. But Simon has achieved what he accurately describes.

Thanks for everything Simon. I agree with all the previous comments. Slaw is a great/fun/modern/diversified resource for the Canadian legal community. I read it all the time and many times I felt less alone because of it.

Simon, you leave a lasting, positive legacy having made an important contribution to the legal profession, the practice of law, access to justice and the administration of justice. We are all the richer for it and I am personally grateful.

Long before it became a blog, Slaw was the name for a symposium or workshop that Simon organized at Osgoode Hall Law School. The idea of Slaw as a blog percolated for at least year or two before Simon breathed deeply and simply began it, not knowing how it would be received, but knowing that the legal profession has been slower than others to go e-anything. There is no doubt how it has been received and, indeed, valued. Bravo!

A +1, “I concur,” and RT+ to all of the above. Simon, you created a brave and wonderful thing in Slaw and it’s been a joy to watch it grow and become “Canada’s online legal magazine.”

You pursued one of those early hopes of the web: to offer a means to share news and disparate views, even from relative nobodies like me, and to discuss them freely and respectfully. You gave us all a place to meet new people and be part of an open and engaged community and—no small thing—to contribute to an established, respected repository of legal information and snapshots of thought in time.

It has been my true honour and pleasure to be a part of this wonderful institution you’ve created, Simon. Among many other things, Slaw has been an incredibly positive force in the collective mission to increase access to justice in Canada.

Thank you for your gentle leadership and inspiration. I look forward to enjoying many more of your Friday Fillips.

You personify everything that is good and reputable about being part of Canada’s legal community, Simon. I heartily agree with the comments above. Thank you for your leadership, your gentle humour and your insight. It has been an honour to work with you.

Steve will, of course, do a wonderful job, but what you have built here is a performance beyond compare. I wish you well in all you now pursue, and hope that you will take the time to savor and absorb the deeply sincere appreciation of all your readers and colleagues around the world.

Greetings Simon,
I have learned a great deal from reading your columns about words as tools, weapons, and toys. You’ve put the fun back in playing with words and that is a unique skill. You are the best paronomasiac I know!
Thank you for created a level playing field where the public interest matters and is given a voice.
I can’t thank you enough for introducing the legal ethics column into slaw’s regular lineup.
I am glad you will continue with the Friday Fillips, at least for a while, because drinking my morning Java without reading your entry just wouldn’t give my Friday mornings the lift-off it requires.
Congratulations on all you have achieved (providing much needed oxygen) among the giddy heights of legal battology.
Retirement; isn’t this the time when you write a book and zig-zag the country promoting it?
Best wishes for a happy, healthy transition.

Simon, thank you so much for everything you’ve done to help build community and provide a forum for people to share news, ideas and opinions about the law and justice. You’ve created an amazing legacy. On behalf of the CBA staff here in BC, please enjoy whatever comes next (and I’ll continue to watch for those Friday Fillips!)

I would like to add to the comments made here with an extract from the note I sent privately to Simon, which I want to share with everyone as well:
‘I want to thank you for having the vision and determination to conceive of SLAW, to nurture it through the growing phase, and to proudly hand over a solid, respected and INVALUABLE resource which shows how a whole is, in fact, made up of the sum of its multitudinous, varied, interesting and diverse parts!,

Simon: I echo all of the foregoing comments which are a testament to your hard work and the success of SLAW. I continue to read SLAW daily and value the hard work and contributions you and all of the other contributors have made. In the word’s of Ira Gershwin: ‘S wonderful, ‘s marvelous! It’s SLAW!

Thank you, Simon, for growing such a wonderful legal information resource that is the Slaw blog! Thanks also for inviting me to be part of the Slaw community. It’s been great! Best wishes on your next life adventure. Looking forward to your Friday Fillips! :-) Hasta la próxima.

Thanks for your remarkable effort, dedication and vision. I remember well our discussion before launch about the possibility of a new blog that would become a critical source of discussion, debate and information on Canadian law and the legal profession. You saw the potential and built an unparalleled resource. Congratulations and thank you.

Simon
I’ve been meaning to comment since I heard this news. We’ve never met and I cannot recall if we’ve ever even spoken but I feel like I’ve known you for a long time.
Well before I was invited to join the Slaw blogger family I was a devoted reader (and occasional commenter). What you’ve done in creating a (inter)national venue to discuss and consider the law and legal profession is truly remarkable. The discussions on Slaw have made me more optimistic about what the future holds for our profession and remind often why I wanted to be a lawyer.
This little blog has generated community among many in the legal profession who might not have otherwise met. Through it, I’ve come to know many whom I today count among my friends.
Thank you for all your contributions but even more for taking a chance on many unknown writers and giving us a place to make our voices heard.

Mr. Fodden,
Thank you! Discovering Slaw as a law student changed the way I thought about both the law and the legal profession. It opened up a new way of intellectually engaging and reflecting on the law. You created a space for accessible and thoughtful conversation.

Your vision in creating Slaw and “making Slaw a safe and thoughtful place to explore how law does and should operate” has and continues to challenge all readers to reflect on the law from multiple perspectives. This includes publishing the perspectives of law students and bringing them into the community and the discussions of the day.

In creating Slaw you have created a community of inclusive thought and I am grateful.

Thank you so much Simon – for having a vision for how technology could bring us together and could provide us not just with more, but with more meaningful and timely communication. You’re an inspiration, and SLAW is a testament your vision. I hope we’ll continue to hear more from you than just filips – you are still way out ahead of the game.
with gratitude,
Sonia.

Many thanks Simon. You’ve always been an inspiration for lawyers to be more active in our online legal community. Your work has brought so many people together and has helped raise the level of discussion. All the best.

Simon, thank you for making your wonderful vision a reality, and working so hard to maintain it all these years. You have created a community where we can discuss issues of importance. It’s hard to keep up with everything going on in the legal information field, but SLAW is an invaluable central resource.